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Turkish club close to signing Aston Villa defender

YeniMalatayaspor sporting director Ali Ravci has confirmed that the club are close to sealing an agreement for Aston Villa outcast Aly Cissokho.

The Frenchman has fallen out of favour at Villa Park over the past year, and he looks set to pursue a move to Turkey.

Cissokho joined the Villains from Valencia three years ago following a decent loan spell with Liverpool, who came very close to the title in 2013/14. He had since maintained a regular role at the west Midlands club until last season, where he conceded two penalties in Steve Bruce's first two games in charge, forcing the manager to a change.

The one-time France international spent the second half of last season on loan with Olympiakos, and he has now been told that he is free to leave Villa Park during the summer. Speaking to Turkish reporters, Ravci confirmed that a deal is close to completion for Cissokho with just some minor issues to resolve with his present employers, he said: "There are a few minor issues to resolve with Aston Villa and then the transfer will go ahead."
Aston Villa struggled to a mid-table finish on their return to the Championship last term, but Bruce will set his sights on the major prize of promotion with a couple of shrewd signings in the transfer window. The likes of Glenn Whelan and Ahmed Elmohamady will bring the necessary top-flight experience required to get through the division while John Terry's presence will provide a huge lift to the squad given what he had achieved during his two-decade long stint with Chelsea.

Bruce has been told to release some of his first-team players in order to rebuild the squad further, and he will be disappointed by Sevilla's decision to cancel the deal for Jordan Amavi at the final hurdle. Amavi had agreed to join the Andalusian club from Villa for £8m earlier this summer, but the Spanish club pulled the plug on the move stating the left-back had failed a medical.